Page 16 of Don't Bet On It
Olivia made a face. “He was not a mathlete. Ronan Hawthorne was on the football team.”
“I’m talking about Ronan Jones,” Rex insisted. “He’s the guy working as a dealer.”
For one terrible moment, I wondered if Ronan had gotten his job under an alias. I disavowed myself of that notion almost immediately. A prospective employee had to show identification and go through a background check to work at Stone Casino. Even though I’d gotten my job through nepotism, I’d gone through the same process. I’d even, briefly, wondered if I wouldn’t be hired because of my mother’s colorful record. Thankfully, that hadn’t become an issue.
Olivia held up her hand to silence everybody. Her gaze landed on me. “Does Ronan Hawthorne work in the casino?”
I couldn’t lie to her. She was my best friend. “Yes,” I said on a sigh. “I saw him a few days after I started. I’ve seen him a couple times since.”
Olivia moved her attention to Rex. “Do you know who Ronan Hawthorne is?”
“I remember the name. That’s not who works in the casino, though. I’ve talked to Ronan Jones multiple times. Like I said, he was a mathlete with you.”
“I was never a mathlete with anybody named Ronan Jones.”
“I like how we’re ignoring that my wife was a mathlete,” Zach said. “I forgot what a geek you were.” He lightly flicked her ear.
Olivia murdered him with a glare. “Being a mathlete is cool.”
Zach snorted. Then he registered the serious look on his wife’s face. “You’re the coolest person I know,” he said to save himself.
Olivia rolled her eyes until they landed on Rex. “I was a mathlete with a guy named Robin Jones.”
Rex opened his mouth—likely to challenge her memory—but he stopped himself. “Robin Jones.” He looked to be searching his memory. “That’s right. I remember now.” He worked his mouth, but no sound came out.
“So Ronan Hawthorne does work here?” Zach straightened. “Is that what you’re saying?”
All eyes moved toward me. “I plead the Fifth,” I said finally, discomfort rolling off of me in waves.
“You can only plead the Fifth if you don’t want to incriminate yourself.” Zach left the couch and moved to the laptop on the kitchen table. The penthouse was bigger than a standard room, with a full kitchen and sitting area as well as two bedrooms. Zach and Olivia never ate at the table, however. They used it as a small office.
I watched him type on his computer. I couldn’t see what he was doing, but I had an idea. I kept my face impassive, my mind moving a mile a minute as I tried to figure out a way to protect Ronan.
It wasn’t that I liked him. I most definitely did not. My memories of him were dark and dreary, and I hated his attitude. But I couldn’t be the cause of him losing his job. That was something I couldn’t live with. If he was fired because he was a poor employee, that was on him. I’d heard nothing of the sort, however.
“Ronan Hawthorne,” Zach said after a full minute of silence. “He’s right here, under his real name.”
Rex moved to stand behind Zach and look at the work entry. “That’s the guy I thought was Ronan Jones.” His eyebrows knitted when he looked up at me. “Why is he working here if his father owns a casino of his own?”
I shrugged. I hated being put on the spot like this. “You should ask him.”
“I’m asking you because you seem to be the one in the know.”
I sighed, the sound long and drawn out. “I don’t really want to do this. Can we talk about something else? I know. How did things go with Ryder when you went to get him out of the storage room?”
Olivia darted an accusatory look toward her brother. “What now?”
“Oh, good job,” Rex lamented. “Now, she’s going to get worked up.”
What in the hell? Did Olivia not know what had gone down in the storage room three days ago? How was that even possible? “I definitely don’t want to have this conversation,” I complained.
“Join the club.” Rex pinned me with a glare before turning a placating look toward his sister. “It’s not a big deal.”
Olivia was having none of it. She folded her arms across her chest and split glares between her brother and husband. “Why does it feel as if I’ve been left out of a very important news update?”
“Ugh.” Zach left the computer and walked toward his wife. “If you’re going to be mad at anybody, be mad at me.”
“Oh, I’m mad at you.”
